Man has been caged in the free world of modern day, in widedaylight and the dark hours, dawn and dusk seem the same for him. The coronavirus has engulfed the entire planet without fear, favour and bias. Thismust make man realise his vulnerability against the wild and deadlycreatures of the physical world. The balance of nature has been let loose. Thewar between the wild and the civilised has spelled doom for the latter. Man canno more take pride in his feats of technology, scientific power or the deadlyamassed weapons of precision. He is hell bent to kneel in the face of thedisaster. Moreover, this enemy is invisible, virulent and non-negotiable. Therecan be no manipulation, nor can the virus be lured into puppetry. For the firsttime I have begun to feel that life is a dream and death is real.
A microscopic virus has imprisoned and threatened us in wideday light.
The lock down across the world reflects the course ofarrogance and recklessness of modern age man, in the garb of freedom, freewilland rights. This period is tough.
This reminds me of Adam, Eve and the forbidden apple. It isour natural inclination to pursue what is forbidden.
The food adventures one ventures into is borne out of themodern freewill approach. Our ancestors did eat quiet a lot of raw foodbut they learnt what was good as they wandered in wilderness. We are reversingthe trend and unlearning the civic traits.
This COVID-19 is not just a food gone wrong issue forcertain. We do not know the truth behind this outburst and the conspiracytheories emerge to confuse the masses further. Every region knits the storybehind corona spread with their own enemy in mind.
What the world has lost is ‘People ‘. The valuable humanresource of the planet. These digital devices right now in your hands are theneo ‘windows’ to see the world today. Not to mention the scenery outside yourreal window is static with empty roads and silent lanes. The high decibel worldhas come to a standstill. This cannot be without reason. Nor it can be withoutcause. Moreover, in spite of the global emergency and grief, there is apathy,intolerance and indifference seen all over all through the digital windows ofour electronic devices. The news and media are our only source ofinformation. Be it the epicentre of Wuhan in China or the affectedcountries in the world every bit is reported. The reporting of spread iscommendable but the interpretation is not. Yes, it is true some faiths havereligious sites in another land or far away from hometown. Business andmigration pulls and pushes people across the globe. Travelling is inevitable.In the course of time the virus did cling and spread wide across. Awarenesscame late and the delay to act promptly brought more harm. Be it US, Italy, UKand so on. Then the world started another blame game of ‘ this community, thisrace, this irresponsible group ‘ and the war was further fuelled with mutualdisgust and accusation. Besides man panics in the face of danger and fiddles inpeace time. The affected had a reason to travel to their bases and wereapprehensive about what might follow if stuck. The unaffected rove their eyeson everyone else as culprits. The world needs to understand there is aresponsibility on us towards each other. Irresponsible behaviour in terms oftravelling, gathering and crowding will harm us severely. Every need and causeis small to justify this carelessness. Requirement is isolation. The popularstory of the middle eastern cave sleepers who slept for 300 odd years in thecave to escape religious persecution is an apt lesson for the present times.When there is destruction all around it is better to cave in. We carry thegenes and lineage of the future generation. Human life must go on to inhabitthis planet as inheritors. We really need an ark to carry us away from thecalamity.
The bitterness and hatred for each other has been fannedeven in this crucial times of the world.
The differences with different faiths and race is deeperthan the viral pandemic. Moreover, the crisis has spread not just panic and thedisease but has ignited racial wars silently. Few even term it the third worldwar.
This is not a war for sure. For wars are fought for victoryand not purely for destruction.
This period has made you and me like our ancient ancestors.The food gatherers, the hunters, the cave men and so on. The main aim ofsurvival was gathering food in abundance. I see every morning when people hurryto buy vegetables, milk and the essentials.
Nobody cares about shopping, partying, playing matches orcelebrating. However, we remain the same. The digital windows that is ourPhones, iPads, TVs are the only connection with the wider world. Our ancestorsalso lived pretty much the same way, without knowing much about the other sideof the world.
This makes me think about an in-house trial is borne out ofthe situation. We have imprisoned ourselves for our own good. To break thechain of the disease, this was vital. The human race had to take this difficultdecision to stay in, to live further. This has surprised the animal world forsure. I can see again through my digital window that animals across the worldare in awe and wonder. Suddenly the nasty, greedy human has vanished from itsvicinity. The ozone must have healed a bit though not totally. The fish musthave swum without fear closer to the surface. You must have seen the picturesof lions, tigers, deer, turtles breathing free for the first time. There are noboundaries for them today. In fact, the human race has limited its boundariesand caged himself. The sky appears clear; the pollutants have decreased inminute proportion. Though commerce and business are hit but nature hasbenefitted. This pandemic is no blessing in disguise but it has showneffects. Loss of life and health are irreparable damage to the presentcivilization. Coming back to the chain of the spread it appears to beunstoppable in every part of the globe. Many believe that ‘This will pass too’.
But the chain of negativity, hatred, intolerance is immortalin human psyche. The negative powers of the world are getting strong likethe pandemic. COVID-19 will end someday. The weaknesses of mind and soul do nothave a quarantine to hide and heal.
The bars, entertainment hubs, casinos, shopping areas wherepeople indulge in excesses have been temporarily been closed so beware the newtrial may be within homes. The in-house trial is as severe than the outsideexigencies. The families, the kith and kin, the citizens of the state or theregions are a single body. The whole fabric that holds these units togethermust be thick. The temptations of the material world, the desire for power andwealth, the mad race for opportunity, the greed for the world has beentemporarily halted. The pandemic has paused the outside world but the worldwithin the homes battles its inherent problems. Be it the scarcity ofresources, inability of mobility, medical emergency, emotional stress or theinterpersonal differences within members of the house, the game is tough insidetoo. Beware this difficult time may sap your energy or irk your nerves. Stayfirm and engage in strengthening the body and mind. The COVID-19 will disappearfrom our life eventually but the moments inside homes will certainly leavean indelible mark on our mind. So play the game well inside too.
The author is of Karnataka origin settled in Kashmir.